Tip Turning Apparatus For Cigarettes Or The Like

What is this patent about?

'602 is related to the field of cigarette manufacturing, specifically to apparatus for inverting and reorienting filter cigarettes. The background involves filter tipping machines that produce double-length cigarettes which are then severed. Before packing or testing, one cigarette of each pair needs to be turned end-for-end so all filter tips face the same direction. Existing solutions involve complex mechanisms that can damage the cigarettes and require additional space.

The underlying idea behind '602 is to use a rotary drum with flutes to invert one row of cigarettes and interleave them with a second row, creating a single row with all filter tips aligned. This is achieved by having pairs of flutes on the drum, where one flute rotates to invert a cigarette while the other remains fixed, and then both are moved radially to merge the two rows.

The claims of '602 focus on an apparatus comprising a cylindrical inverting conveyor rotatable about a first axis, sets of first and second elongated flutes for receiving cigarettes, means for articulately connecting the first flutes to the conveyor including pivot members having second axes parallel to the conveyor axis, means for articulately connecting the second flutes to the conveyor including fulcra whose third axes cross in space with and are located in a plane normal to the conveyor axis, means for moving successive second flutes from the first into the second path during a first stage of each revolution of the conveyor, means for moving successive first flutes from the first into the second path during a later second stage of each revolution of the conveyor, means for supplying pairs of coaxial articles into successive aligned first and second flutes at a first transfer station at which the aligned flutes are located during a third stage which precedes the first stage of each revolution of the conveyor, and means for accepting alternating inverted and non-inverted articles from alternating second and first flutes at a second transfer station at which the flutes (moving along the second path) are located during a fourth stage which follows the second stage of each revolution of the conveyor.

In practice, the apparatus uses a rotating drum with two sets of flutes. One set of flutes rotates the cigarettes 180 degrees using a gear and cam mechanism, while the other set remains fixed. Both sets of flutes are then moved radially outward to merge the two rows into a single row. Suction ports in the flutes hold the cigarettes in place during the process. The inverted and non-inverted cigarettes are then transferred to another conveyor for further processing, such as testing or packaging.

This design differs from prior approaches by directly transferring the reoriented cigarettes to a testing drum without intermediate steps like belts and re-alignment cams. The direct transfer and the use of a single inverting conveyor simplifies the process, reduces the risk of damage to the cigarettes, and makes the apparatus more compact. The precise arrangement of pivot points and cam followers ensures accurate alignment and spacing of the cigarettes, even at high processing speeds.